Since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak in Singapore, life has definitely changed for many Singaporeans, permanent residents and foreigners living in the country.

Singapore government has been working around the clock to find ways to control the virus and this month, they announced its most serious measures to ensure the virus is contained.

According to the government, every sector of the country will have to exercise extreme measures until May 4th and it may continue depending on the situation of the country at that time.

Extreme Safety Measures on Education

For the education sector, the new measures will affect even those in higher education levels. Under the new measures, all students – from primary to university or college level – must already be taking their classes online and will continue to do so until May 4.

For pre-school students, schools will be closed; but, parents working in the healthcare sector and those working in low-wage or daily-wage tasks will be allowed to leave their children in these schools so they can be taken care of. Select childcare services will also be open for parents who need help with their children.

Enrichment or remedial classes whether in school or in enrichment centers will also be on hold.

For graduating students, there will not be any graduation ceremonies for this year’s batch. However, they can still get their diplomas, transcripts and others once arrangements have been sorted out.

Singapore Parents are Concern about Education Gap

For parents, the announcement that classes in all levels is concerning because any more changes to their children’s education may cause an “education gap.”

This education gap may prevent children from keeping up with their curriculum, especially if they are moving up. While there is some merit to these concerns, there are ways to ensure students can stay on track with their courses.

Parents should take the following action if they do not want their child to backtrack on results:

Monitor closely on Singapore Student Learning Space

Since classes will be moved online, parents can check their child’s lessons and tasks through the Singapore Student Learning Space.

This platform will be updated regularly and show what classes their children have to do for the day. It will also indicate if your child has managed to follow through the course or attended them at all.

When you see your child’s task for the day, you can monitor their work and see to it that they are not slacking off. You can request for access to the platform by asking it from your child’s teacher.

Some schools do provide parental access to the learning space automatically once their child is enrolled in the school.

Besides regular online lessons, schedule revision time

Aside from monitoring their classes online, you should ensure that your child has regular revision time after each class.

Revision time is where they can revise their notes, review the lecture they were given and do the tasks they have for the day. Make sure that the revision time does not change at all so your children will find it easier to organise their time to fit it.

During revision time, your child must be in an environment where they can focus.

If they need your help, wait for them to ask you for help before offering your assistance.

Get assessment books and test papers

If you will take an active role in checking your child’s education while at home, you can purchase assessment books on the subjects your child is taking or download free test papers from our website.

There are assessment books available online where you can test their knowledge and they even provide score sheets so you can correctly check your child’s answers.

You can also ask your child’s teacher if they can recommend assessment books for you to try if you have no idea which ones to get. Or you can check out our tips on how to pick out a good assessment book for your kid here.

Hire an online tutor to help on difficult subjects

If you see that your child is having problems with one or two subjects or if you do not have time to teach them yourself, why not get an online tutor?

You can sign up your child to online platforms like ours where they can reach out to tutors while online. These platforms even have interactive features that will allow students to ask questions to a tutor and get a response at the same time.

What’s great with these platforms is that they are very affordable and there are even those which are for free.

If your child already has a tutor, you can speak to them in continuing their sessions online. Tutors can easily send their lectures online to your child and sort out the activities they can do like our recommendations here. 

Conduct lessons at home using games and apps

Since your child may find constant online classes boring, especially if they are long lectures or subjects they are not really confident with, you can help them by giving them alternative ways to learn even more. You can use educational games and apps recommended here which you can both do on your smartphone or computer.

Of course, you will need to try out these apps before you show them to your child because these online games and apps vary in terms of education levels.

If you don’t want them to focus too much on their smartphone devices or computers, you can create the game yourself. This doubles as a great bonding activity for both of you to do.

Conclusion

It is still unclear as to when everything will be back to normal considering that there is no vaccine or cure yet for this pandemic. However, this does not mean that we should immediately lose hope and say it will be bad in the long run because there are ways to get through them through alternative means.

For our children’s education, don’t be afraid to try out alternatives such as online education, educational games, apps and others. You can also reach out to their teachers and tutors to see how you can help in your own way.

It can be hard to work with at first, but every effort you make can make a difference and your children will definitely appreciate it.

To keep track of the latest educational news, here are the articles:

What Singapore can Learn from Other Countries in Managing COVID-19 Challenges in Education
Financial Help for Low and Middle Income Students in Singapore